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For the US town, see Philippi, West Virginia, and for the town in the Golan Heights, see Caesarea Philippi. For the zoologist, see Rodolfo Amando Philippi.
Philippi was the capital of the province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the Aegean Sea, about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined village called Philibedjik. Philip II of Macedon fortified the old Thracian town of Crenides ("the fountain") and named it after himself.
In 42 BC it was the site of the Battle of Philippi, the final battle between the forces of Marcus Antonius and Octavian Augustus and the forces of Cassius and Marcus Junius Brutus, Julius Caesar's assassins.
In the time of the Emperor Augustus this city became a Roman colony, i.e., a military settlement of Roman soldiers for the purpose of controlling the recently conquered district. It was a "miniature Rome," under the municipal law of Rome and governed by military officers, called duumviri, who were appointed directly from Rome.
Having been guided to Philippi by a vision (according to the Bible), Paul and his companion Silas preached the gospel and formed the first church in Europe. This success stirred up the enmity of the people, and they were "shamefully entreated" (Acts 16:9-40; 1 Thess. 2:2). Paul and Silas at length left this city and proceeded through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica.
Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897 -- Please update as needed
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